This comparative study explores the experience of two first-year teachers in starkly different school systems, one in a small city on the northern plains and the other in a Midwest urban community. Using this comparative method, the authors looked at the similarities and differences of two different educational settings to collect data regarding…

Adolescents with learning disabilities are not educated in a vacuum. Successful programming for these students involves many school professionals working together to integrate their programs for the benefit of students with learning disabilities. Collaborative teaming probably can best be described as an attitude rather than a certain way of…

Can a rich problem-solving task challenge a diverse range of students? How would students across various grade levels, from elementary school to secondary school, respond to the same task? These were the questions five different teachers in different schools wanted to explore in their respective classes, ranging from first grade through ninth…

Good teachers were shying away from accepting 4th-grade positions because of the growing accountability pressures that were being unfairly brought to bear on that grade level. Highly publicized reports of the state's new battery of standardized assessments were scaring off applicants. To address the personnel needs while more fairly sharing the…

Teaching is often characterized as an isolated activity, yet opportunities for teachers to work and learn together in schools are increasing. Underlying this shift is the view that as teachers work on new practices and teaching challenges together, they will express varied perspectives, reveal different teaching styles and experiences, and…

Crafting a positive school work environment takes time and will that many educators often lack. Yet some experts say that how the principal, teachers, and staff get along is paramount to parental involvement and to cutting-edge instruction. Unfortunately, according to this author, the workplace culture in many schools is undeniably dysfunctional.…

At its inception, Waldorf education was not to be a special, "boutique" reform. Nor was it to cater to children of a higher social standing. In fact, Waldorf broke out of the hierarchically tracked education system present in turn-of-the-century Germany. The founding father, Rudolf Steiner, called for a "Volks" pedagogy, a…

A study was undertaken to determine how telecommunications technology affects teacher reflection and collaboration. Study participants, eight teachers currently practicing in both public and private schools, were interviewed several times over the school year. Analysis of the data revealed several important areas of impact regarding use of…

This paper reports on research evaluating a faculty development program, Creating a Collaborative Learning Environment (CCLE), at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The study combined a contextual study to examine historical data and three case studies with participant verification. CCLE is a voluntary professional development program designed…

This study investigated whether vertical (grade level sequence) alignment of the curriculum in conjunction with teacher collaboration would enhance student performance on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test in south Texas school districts of various sizes. Surveys were mailed to the office of the superintendent of 47 school…

In 1989, Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) implemented the Study of Teaching (TST), a staff development program for administrators and teachers to promote professional collegiality. A 3-year evaluation of program implementation in the Germany Region for the Office of Dependents Education was undertaken. This report documents…

What elements are critical in fostering the engagement of two individuals in a mentoring relationship? Based on this phenomenological research on the mentoring experiences of women faculty, a feeling of connection emerged as an essential attribute of these relationships. The findings suggest that HRD professionals should be engaged in providing…

This paper discusses how the authors' department curricula, classroom environments, and ultimately student learning might be improved by "high tech" assessment and evaluation techniques to find out "what people really care about." Collaborative technologies are used to gather and process the opinions of students, faculty, and…

This document is a resource developed for educators trained in the Professional Learning Team (PLT) process by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). The PLT process is a research-based model for effective schoolwide professional development that results in teachers changing their instructional practices. This publication provides…

This manual is a guide to consultation and collaboration for educators of gifted children and is based on the Resource Consultation and Collaboration Program implemented at 10 schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 2 years. Individual chapters of the manual address the following topics: (1) overview of resource consultation and collaboration…